Puffin Island

Stranded just off the coast of Pembrokeshire lies an enchanting Island, where very few humans venture. Deserted for most of the year, Skokum brings back to life every spring and summer. And like clockwork, a special visitor has arrived on Skokum, it is May, and the island has undergone a dreamy transformation, draping itself in a carpet of wild flowers. The stage is all set for one of the greatest wildlife spectacles. Spending seven months out in the open sea, the puffins are now back, flapping their short but powerful wings. Up to 400 times a minute, they can reach speeds of up to 55 miles per hour, with counts ranging around ten and a half thousand. Skokum, once deserted, is now a buzzing hub of bird life.

The Birdlife Extravaganza

The island is now colonized by these winged wanderers, and it's about to become the cradle for the future generations. The puffins share the island with a supporting cast of other seabirds. Razor bills and guillemots are back on the island like every year, inhabiting the hostile cliffs, mastering the art of living life on the edge. The graceful fulmars, on the other hand, are busy with their aerial displays and courtship behavior. And the cove is reverberating with a familiar sound - gray seals have announced their presence back in the colony. The activity is at its peak, and Skokum has turned into a vibrant, bustling avian metropolis.

The Comical Puffins

Adorning a black and white plumage and sporting flashy beak extensions, the puffins scuffle on land in their trademark comical gait, indulging in their routine antics. Comical they may appear, but in reality, these tiny birds are tough little characters. This is the story of the clowns of the sea as their comic and, at times, tragic lives unfold on the dream island. Introduced long ago on the island, Skokum is also a safe haven for rabbits, grazing on the vegetation and creating a network of burrows that facilitate puffins with the ideal accommodation. But when there are thousands of birds finding a home, it might not always be an easy task.

Puffins are known for their precise social protocols, which help them navigate across the crowded hillsides. One such protocol is moving across with a lowered head. However, not all birds abide by the rules; some, like rebels, invade someone's territory, a crime in the puffin world. These feathery clashes can result in serious injuries, and the victor displays dominance by shaking its head as it claims the territory. Most birds go on to nest in the same burrows every year, while some prefer digging out new ones. Puffins are known for their long-lived monogamous bonds and don't shy away from showcasing their affection.

The Struggle for Survival

A crowd always draws in to share the excitement as puffins rub their flashy beaks, communicating with their partners and within the colony. After a bit of refurbishing, it's time to find the home decor. With the home decor set, this pair will soon go on to lay a single egg. But newer challenges await, including a formidable predator, the greater blackback gulls. These fierce predators are the largest gulls in the world and the top predators on Skokum. They are busy raising their young, and the chicks are always hungry. These gulls are aggressive hunters, pirates, and scavengers. They will prey on anything and everything they come across on the island.

The greater blackback gulls are positioned strategically to make the most of their hunting opportunities. While grabbing a puffin is one thing, holding on to it is quite a task. However, the puffin is no match for the gull's sheer size, resulting in a struggle for survival that often ends in the gull's favor. In this natural world, death for one implies life for the other, and such harsh realities govern the puffins' existence.

Despite the challenges and occasional tragedies, most stories in this avian metropolis have a happy ending. As June approaches, the feeding frenzy begins, and a puffin on land with fish stacked in its bill signifies that a puffling has hatched. What follows is a demanding phase in their lives as both parents have to devote a significant amount of time and energy to travel between the breeding colony and the feeding areas. This ensures they make the most of their one-egg investment.

Prey-rich waters around Skokum are beneficial to a certain extent, but when thousands of rivals compete for the same food source and strong winds blow, the challenges become many. The puffins must summon all their resilience to feed their hungry chicks in these harsh conditions.

The Circle of Life

Amid the struggle for survival, Skokum is also home to lesser black-backed gulls, smaller than their greater relatives. These opportunistic feeders will consume anything and everything that is available, not even sparing their own kind. The puffins are not the only victims; these gulls indulge in kleptoparasitism, stealing prey from puffins to meet their own needs. For a puffin, this is a colossal loss of time and energy, but the natural world functions in its own ways.

However calm the colonies might appear outwardly, failure is stalking these birds at every turn. The amount of effort that the adults take to raise their young is truly astonishing, and most birds go on to raise their young successfully. Pufflings fledge at around six weeks, and as July wears off, they take their first peek out of their burrows. Soon, they will head out to the wide open seas to test their mettle in the harsh winter that lies ahead. As the sun sets across the horizon, the island is swept in a blanket of gold, and puffins return to their burrows. Skokum, once a bustling hub of avian life, will soon be deserted, engulfed in stark silence until the arrival of spring next year.

So, in the magical realm of Skokum, every year unfolds a dramatic and exhilarating saga, showcasing the resilience, determination, and sheer audacity of the puffins as they continue to grace this enchanting island, bringing it to life, and turning it into a theater of nature's most incredible performances. The puffins of Skokum are indeed the clowns of the sea, a testament to the brilliance of the natural world.